Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) will be searching for evidence - and welcoming some special guests, including Joe Theismann. / Eddy Chen, Fox

by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

PASADENA, Calif. - What can Super Bowl fans expect from Sunday's post-game episodes of Fox's New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel as Jess, a single woman with three male roommates, and Brooklyn, a cop comedy starring Andy Samberg as Detective Jake Peralta, have some guest stars in store.

In Deschanel's series, "in a nutshell, Prince invites (pal) Cece (Hannah Simone) and Jess to his house for a party. All the guys want to go, but they can't get in because they aren't invited," she says in a playful interview with Samberg this month. But they go anyway, and Prince "helps Jess work through some of her issues," leaving time to perform a song together. "I'm pumped about this episode."

Samberg says Brooklyn's episode is "actually really similar. We get invited to Prince's house, but it's Prince Fielder from the Detroit Tigers. His house is nice, but it's different. There's a lot of baseball memorabilia â?¦ a lot of Big League Chew in this episode."

He's kidding (we think), and anyway, Fielder has been traded to the Texas Rangers. But the outing will find Samberg trying to solve a case in a hotel with Detective Santiago (Melissa Fumero), while back at the precinct, Capt. Holt (Andre Braugher) and Sgt. Jeffords (Terry Crews) are "trying to increase efficiency by crunching numbers," he says. Dean Winters and Fred Armisen return, and football great Joe Theismann appears, along with a surprise guest or two.

Did they feel pressure to perform for an audience that will be many times the 5 million to 6 million who now watch? While shooting, "I definitely had in the back of my mind every time I did something that a lot of people might be seeing this that wouldn't necessarily have seen the show (before)," Deschanel says.

New Girl, which is midway through its third season, and Brooklyn, which premiered last fall, mark the first half-hour comedies to follow the Super Bowl since 2005, when Fox aired a Simpsons special and the premiere of American Dad. Fox hopes the post-game pairing will bring new viewers to Tuesdays, where - starting next week - Brooklyn will air an hour later, at 9:30 ET/PT, behind Girl.

New Girl stirred things up late last season by coupling Jess and roommate Nick (Jake Johnson), which came as a surprise to the actors.

"They kind of threw us together fast last year and didn't really tell us until we were halfway through (filming) the episode," Deschanel says. "All I knew was Jess being unhappy in love, and then having a crush on Nick and not really knowing it, and then knowing it but not thinking he's into her.

"I was a little concerned, but I've actually been happy and excited with the way it's played out. There's such a volatility to the relationship that it kind of makes it exciting." She says she doesn't know what's next but figures "there's no way they can last; they're too damaged."

Samberg would like to see Jake couple up, too, "because that's what people like watching," and there's already a flirtation with Santiago. But he's had other reasons to celebrate: A day before the interview, he and the show were big winners at the Golden Globe Awards, and Samberg was as surprised as anyone.

"Our show has, like, barely even aired on television," he says. "I didn't even think we were even eligible until we got nominated, and I never expected to win."

Did he lobby the 80-odd members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association? "He was French-kissing them all the time," cracks Deschanel, who was also a nominee. The two have known each other for years - and worked together once when she hosted Saturday Night Live, which he left last year.

"Andy called me before he took Brooklyn Nine-Nine and said, 'You can't tell anybody, but I might do this show for Fox. I just want to know if it's a good experience.' " She endorsed the network because "they're excited about it, and they just let you do your thing. It's just sick that I sold you on the idea."

The biggest change from his SNL routine: "Waking up early in the morning. I hate it," he says. "Once I'm up, it's cake."